The Winter Olympics are upon us – and alongside the grand sporting occasion comes the spectacle of the Team GB curling team, who are hoping for a repeat of their performance at the Beijing Games in 2022.
"That time was such a blur," says the Scottish curler Jen Dodds, 34, in this exclusive interview with hello!, recalling how the women’s team won their first Olympic curling gold for 20 years, while the men’s team took home silver medals.
"I was just like: ‘What is going on?’ We had been in a bubble for over a month, just us, the boys’ team and our support staff. It was overwhelming."
This time round, the Games are being held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, in northern Italy. The action kicks off on Friday, but curling has already returned to the spotlight, thanks to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Two weeks ago, the royal couple joined Jen and her mixed-doubles partner, Bruce Mouat (who won team silver in Beijing), on the ice as they were shown around Scotland's National Curling Academy in Stirling.
"I was starstruck, to be honest," says Bruce, 31, who instructed Prince William on how best to tackle the sport. "They walked into the ice rink just like two normal people would.
“It was so cool, having the Prince and Princess shaking hands with us, chatting and wishing us good luck. I thought it was really special that they came along and I was honoured to have the opportunity to teach them how to curl."
"You could tell they were a wee bit nervous," Jen adds. "Obviously, it's not normal to slide about on the ice, but for a first attempt, they both did very well. I was impressed by both of them."
It wasn’t Jen’s first brush with royalty. After winning gold in 2022, she was thrilled to be awarded with an MBE for services to curling by the Princess Royal at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. "That was really special," Jen remembers. "She said: 'Congratulations from the whole country.'”
Jen and Bruce, who have been friends since childhood, are speaking to us just days before they depart for the Italian Dolomites. As well as playing in a mixed-doubles pair, Bruce will “skip” (captain) the men's team, while Jen will go for gold again in the women's team.
Both were introduced to the sport by their families. "My parents played, all my grandparents played," Jen says. "I have an older brother who got to start before me, so I was sitting there with my colouring books thinking: 'I want to get out there.' I loved it from day one."
Like Jen, Bruce had to watch his older brother play first. "I got so jealous," he says. "When I got the opportunity to play, it became like a family sport. And that's the really special thing about curling; you have recreational players from the age of seven up to 70 and older. Having so many people from different walks of life in one sport is what makes curling uniquely amazing."
Going for gold
These Olympics have been a long time coming for the pair, who met when Bruce was eight and Jen was 11, and began playing mixed doubles together in 2019.
"You had to give a top three of who you wanted to play with; it was very high school," Jen says. "We got matched, I got my pick and I was extremely happy. We've known each other for so long that we know instantly how to support each other if we're having tough moments."
After coming "so close to getting a medal" at the last Olympics (they finished fourth), the pair are raring to go. "We're hoping to go out there and finish off the job that we wanted to get done last time,” Bruce says.
And there's extra pressure on Jen, who could become the most decorated Winter Olympian in British athletics if she finds herself on the podium twice. "I'd love to get a medal – two would be fantastic. I don't know what I'd do!"
It's set to be a gripping few weeks on the ice. "I think people always enjoy curling because they feel as though they can become experts and figure out what we're doing," Bruce says.
"Then, all of a sudden, we'll switch it up and they'll have no clue what's happening again. I think that's what's so addictive about it."
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina take place 6-22 February